Guide · France

Driving a UK-registered car in France: the one-month rule, what the malus and carte grise cost, and what to do instead

Residents must register a UK car in France within one month. This guide covers that rule, what the malus and carte grise cost, and the alternative.

Last reviewed October 2026

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

It depends on where your main home is. Once you have settled in France, a car registered abroad must be registered in France within one month. That applies whatever your nationality, to British residents and to French people coming home from the UK alike. Keeping a car on the road without a valid French registration once the month is up is a fourth-class offence: a €135 fixed fine (up to €750 if it goes to court), and the car can be immobilised. Your insurer may also refuse a claim. If your main home is still in the UK, for example with a holiday home in Brittany or the Dordogne, you can use the car in France as a visitor for up to six months, while its UK registration, tax, MOT and insurance are valid. On the UK side, the DVLA treats a car kept abroad for 12 months or more as permanently exported.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Yes. French registration can't be refused because a car is right-hand drive, and EU type approval makes no distinction between the two. The car must still meet French rules: dipped headlamps that suit driving on the right (stick-on deflectors may not be accepted, and new units on a modern car can cost €500 or more) and a speedometer that reads in km/h. A car built for the UK market after Brexit may have no European certificate of conformity, in which case the DREAL has to approve it individually (réception à titre isolé), so ask them before you spend money. French buyers pay less for right-hand drive.

What registering it involves

Proof of conformity: a European certificate of conformity (COC) or an EU type identification certificate from the manufacturer, or, if neither is available, an individual approval (réception à titre isolé, RTI) from the DREAL for your area (the DRIEAT in Île-de-France).
Headlamps adapted or replaced for driving on the right, and a speedometer in km/h if it doesn't already show one.
A contrôle technique for a car over four years old, done in France or another EU country less than six months before you apply. The UK MOT isn't accepted.
French motor insurance, then the carte grise application online through ANTS (France Titres) or an approved professional, with form cerfa 13750, the V5C, proof of address, the conformity document, the CT report and any other supporting documents ANTS asks for. Préfectures no longer take applications at the counter. You get a provisional certificate (CPI) that lets you drive in France for one month while the carte grise is made.

What it costs

Malus (CO2) on a used car first registered abroad: the scale in force in the year it was first registered, less a discount for its age. Since 1 March 2025 the discount goes by months instead of 10% a year: 53% at 85–96 months, 58% at 97–108 months and 64% at 109–120 months. Cars first registered before 1 January 2015 pay none.
The 2018 scale, which covers many 8-year-old UK cars, starts at €50 at 120 g/km (NEDC) and reaches €10,500 from 185 g/km. For comparison, a car first registered in 2026 pays from 108 g/km (WLTP), up to €80,000; the 2025 scale started at 113 g/km.
Examples (illustrative CO2 figures), registered in France about 8½ years after first registration, so with a 58% discount: 2018 VW Golf 1.5 TSI, 116 g/km NEDC, no malus; 2018 Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi, 135 g/km, €613 on the 2018 scale, about €260; 2018 Range Rover Sport SDV6, 185 g/km, €10,500 on the scale, about €4,400.
Weight malus: worked out the same way, on the scale of the year of first registration less the age discount. The weight tax only began in 2022, so a car first registered before 2022 pays none. For cars first registered in 2026 it starts at 1,500 kg, at €10 to €30 per kg above that (1,600 kg in 2025). Fully electric cars are exempt, and CO2 and weight malus together are capped at the maximum CO2 malus.
Carte grise, regional tax per fiscal horsepower (CV) in 2026: €58 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, €59.50 in Occitanie, €60 in Brittany, Normandy and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, €43 in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, plus €11 management tax and €2.76 delivery. For a 7 CV car in Brittany: €420 + €13.76, about €434.
On top: about €80 for the contrôle technique (prices range from about €45 to €150), any headlamp work, and the manufacturer's charge for a certificate of conformity or the cost of the DREAL approval.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

The usual alternative is driving it back to the UK and selling it there. Bergerac to Calais is roughly 850 km and Nice to Calais about 1,200 km: a long day or two at the wheel, plus fuel, motorway tolls, the Channel crossing and the journey back, and then the car still has to be sold. It only works while the MOT, UK tax and UK insurance are valid. We collect it free from your address on a transporter, handle the export paperwork and pay you in pounds sterling (£) by bank transfer on collection day.

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Common questions

Can I estimate the malus before deciding?

Yes. Take the CO2 figure from the V5C, look up the malus scale for the year the car was first registered, and take off the age discount (58% for a car 97 to 108 months old). The carte grise cost simulator on service-public.fr gives the full figure, including the regional tax.

I'm French and coming home from the UK with my car. Is it any different for me?

No. The one-month rule depends on where you live, not your nationality, and the conformity check, the CT, the carte grise and the malus apply to you as to anyone else. This guide is also available in French.

What if the MOT has expired?

Not a problem. We buy cars with an expired MOT, no UK tax or a SORN, and collect them by transporter.

Rules, rates and thresholds change. This guide is a general summary as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice — check the current position with the registration authority before relying on it.

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